Stage Fright
by Cracon
Summary: Rachel swallowed hard before she repeated herself again, this time her voice was only slightly wavering. "I think Quinn Fabray just asked me out." - Faberry, Hummelberry friendship


**Title:** Stage Fright

**Author:** cracon

**Rating:** PG

**Length:** 5936

**Pairings / Characters:** established Kurt/Rachel friendship, Quinn/Rachel, mentioned Kurt/Blaine

**Spoilers**: up to and including S02E22 "New York", shamelessly ignoring S02E18 "Born this Way"

**Summary:** Rachel swallowed hard before she repeated herself again, this time her voice was only slightly wavering. "I think Quinn Fabray just asked me out."

**A/N:** For tiny-sized on tumblr, although she claims to be ridiculously bad at giving prompts. ;)

Prompt: _Quinn asked Rachel out on a date. Cue Rachel completely freaking out about pretty much everything - nerves, clothes, make up, why Quinn would ask her... yada yada yada - which is where Kurt comes in to help out._

* * *

><p>Being friends with Rachel Berry was ridiculously easy, Kurt thought as he sat down next to her in Glee. Really. At first it was just a few random get-togethers to practise for his solo for the Warblers or to meet for coffee with Blaine and Mercedes to get an update on how everybody was doing at McKinley, since Finn never really was the one to talk much at home. But over time they actually bonded, something he never thought was possible before.<p>

If you had told Kurt Hummel this almost two years ago he would've laughed in your face and just strutted away in his skinny designer jeans, brushing that one rebellious lock of hair aside he just couldn't get under control, now matter how much and hard he tried. Being friends with Rachel "Obnoxious" Berry? Bitch, please. He'd rather join the Cheerios and grovel at Sue Sylvester's pristine white tennis shoes.

But now, since both things have happened (although not so much the grovelling at Sue's shoes, mind you), he was actually glad for their friendship, since his others kinda … faded in the background. Or fizzled out. He's still on the fence about that. He used to hang out with Tina and Mercedes a lot more. But ever since Tina and Mike started dating they were more or less in their own little Asian bubble or paired off first with Brittany and Artie, or now with Brittany and _**Santana**_ instead. He still considered Tina a friend, just not on the same level of closeness as before.

Mercedes had almost become an enigma for him, which made Kurt sad. They'd been best friends since middleschool. Now she's off dating Sam, and he's totally happy for his friends, but he really didn't want to disturb their newly-wed vibe.

He now wondered if they all only were besties once because the only thing they had in common was the fact that they were the ragtag misfits of school, nothing else. Birds of a feather stick together, or something. And now, that there were suddenly _options_, that there were suddenly other people than themselves taking an interest in them, it all just fell apart naturally. Onward to greener pastures.

He made a mental note to research this further as soon as he got home.

Rachel Berry, however, had wormed her way into his heart without him even consciously noticing it. At first she was just a blip on his radar, abrasive enough that even the teachers rolled their eyes whenever she raised her hand in class and their own group of misfits didn't want her, just one step above Jacob Ben Israel on the high school food chain. She was difficult in her own way, yes, but who wasn't? It's high school, most of them were still figuring out their place in life and Rachel already _knew_ her place and exactly how to get there. Couple that with a cut-throat attitude for anything musical and an unfortunate choice of clothing and she was a leper even for the pariahs at school.

Still. One day they were practising for a song and it just hit him - yes, they were friends, in a way he never really was with Tina or Mercedes. Because, apart from his immediate family and Blaine, the little diva cared most about his well-being. First at Dalton and then at McKinley. She made an effort in befriending him, even before the bullying got out of hand. She supported him when he technically belonged to the competition. She constantly sang songs with him that were traditionally sung by women, to show him that he can do it if he sets his mind on it and that he shouldn't limit himself by old-fashioned gender roles. She even coached him for that ridiculous competition Jesse St. James had put up the week before Nationals, although the "old Rachel", that's what he dubbed it in his mind, would've done everything to make sure she won and sang her solo at Nationals and not someone else.

My, how much they all had grown since the beginning of sophomore year. Rachel had her fair share of boyfriend drama, coupled with her "biological mother debacle" the year before. (It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that this particular topic was off limits, unless Rachel started it first.) Something like that changes a person a lot, and he was glad that she decided to focus on herself for a while, and their friendship, after his step-brother made an ass of himself and broke up with her before christmas, a few days before her _birthday_, in a christmas tree lot of all places. Sometimes all Kurt wanted to do was just slap Finn repeatedly to get his last two braincells to rub together. Apparently since the beginning of the new year the topics "Finn" and "boyfriends" were off the proverbial table and Rachel had refused all of Finn's unwanted advances, claiming that all the great divas of their time made it without a man by their side, so that'd be exactly what she'd be doing, too.

Good for Rachel.

Not so much for Kurt, because Finn was just moping around at home, seconds away from throwing a temper tantrum whenever he was near. (Because Rachel was still Kurt's best friend and around for the occasional sleepover and Kurt won't throw that away just because his step-brother was being an idiot.) And then there was the whole Finn dating Quinn thing Kurt didn't really understand—maybe it's because he was at Dalton at the time and Finn and he barely had the time to talk at home, but even Rachel couldn't explain it to him because she was somewhat puzzled by that development as well. But then the Quinn thing was over just as fast again by the time Prom rolled around and it just resulted in an even moodier Finn, until Burt, at Kurt's behest, sat him down and explained to him, in a very fatherly way, that Finn should get his shit together before Burt would ground him. That was fun to watch.

There was still some tension left in Glee club, mostly because Finn pouted at Kurt and Rachel at every given opportunity—really, could he be any more immature?—and Quinn wasn't even giving him the time of the day anymore. Seems like she finally embraced some of the independent woman wisdom Sue Sylvester tried to bestow on all of her Cheerios.

So, yes, Kurt had found a new friend in Rachel Berry and he really hoped this was going to last and would be the real deal, friendship-wise. Rachel could actually be a lot of fun, Kurt mused with a sideway glance to his friend, who was searching through her pink school bag while Mister Schuester prattled on about one thing or another. (It's the end of the school year and after Nationals, it's not like anything substantial would be going on.) She was a lot less high-maintenance outside of school and even allowed him to give her a make-over. (A real one this time, no other ulterior motives involved than upgrading the wardrobe of a friend.) Almost all of their hobbies and interests overlapped, they shared the same aspirations and dreams for the future and then there was the fact that whenever they sang a duet together, in Glee club or in private, their harmonies were to die for.

If both of them were straight they'd probably go for it in a heartbeat.

Kurt grinned to himself and shook his head a little. Discovering that Rachel wasn't particularly straight was an interesting development, to say the least. Gaga bless his quick perception of everything gay. Although, after all of her trials with her past boyfriends he couldn't really blame the girl. He'd probably try to be straight then, too. (But then he always remembered his fierce fright of lady parts and … no. He couldn't do it. He was definitely a six on the Kinsey scale. Although, funnily enough, he could imagine himself being romantically in love with a girl, just without the physical aspect. Although Rachel was the only one who sparked those feelings in him and now this had suddenly taken a really weird turn. Kurt shuddered. Maybe he'd chalk it up to Rachel being his soulmate, his very platonic soulmate. There was nothing wrong with that.)

She once told him that she desperately tried being straight for the sole reason of not being yet another statistic. The gay daughter of the gay parents? Lovely. The conservatives just love stuff like this. "All gay parents raise gay kids!" And all that jazz. So she tried. She tried very much with all the boyfriends she had, but somehow she just couldn't do it and she really didn't want to talk to her dads about it, feeling as if she'd let them down as a daughter.

That was the moment Kurt sat her down at his kitchen table and took the chair next to her, both of his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. (And never in his wildest dream had he ever imagined to help Rachel Berry with her own coming out and accepting herself. He always thought she'd had a PowerPointPresentation ready for every occasion, even this one. He always thought he'd be helping _Santana Lopez_ with this, but never Rachel Berry.)

"It's more than about the physical, Rachel, you know that. You can't just make yourself fall in love with the male sex by having one boyfriend after the other. If you're not connecting on an emotional level it's just not going to happen. You know when you'll be ready and in love and with whom. Just … don't throw yourself around, like you don't matter, okay? Because you matter, Rachel. No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life," Kurt paused for a moment and grinned as recognition showed on Rachel's face, "You're on the right track, honey. And you matter very much. You are only letting your dads down if you hide who you truly are. And if you want I can be there when you talk to them."

Okay, so Rachel tearing up and fiercly hugging him, her face hiding in the crook of his neck, her hands clutching at the material of his sweater at his back and her small frame shaking with sobs after giving her the slightly shortened and altered speech his father gave him wasn't exactly part of the plan, but he welcomed it nonetheless. Rachel had always had a penchant for the dramatics and she will probably use this in her memoirs twenty years from now or something. (Kurt didn't mind that fact too much. Because when the time comes for him to write his own there will probably a whole chapter dedicated to Rachel and their friendship, or a few more.)

Before he even really noticed it the glee meeting was over and the rattling and scraping of chairs on the floor pulled Kurt out of his memories. Mister Schuester was already gone and the rest of the club was shuffling out the doors. Kurt stood up and stretched, trying to loosen up the kinks in his back. The furniture at McKinley really was torture, compared to the plush couches at Dalton the Warblers had. He leaned down to grab the strap of his satchel and straightened up again. Rachel was still busy packing her bag.

"I'll wait for you at my car to drive you home, okay? Or do you want me to wait here?"

Rachel looked up to him with a blinding smile. "Go ahead, I'll be right out, just have to organise the mess that is my bag and make a short stop at my locker afterwards."

Kurt nodded, his lips quirking at the corners before he strolled out of the choir room, down the hallway with a brief stop at his own locker to get the books he'd need for his homework, to the McKinley parking lot for students. He unlocked the big black SUV with the remote control on his key and propped open the trunk, packing away his bag, before moving towards the driver's door and getting in.

He switched his phone back on and was immediately greeted with a picture of his boyfriend and himself in the background and a new text message. It simply read "Courage! ;)" and Kurt chuckled. It had become somewhat of a running gag between the two of them. He decided to text Blaine later and to play Angry Birds until Rachel arrived.

Which she pretty soon did. He had only halfway figured out how to resolve the newest level he was on when the front passenger door of his car slammed shut, effectively shaking the whole car and startling Kurt in the process and nearly making him drop his phone.

"Geez, Rach, it's not a tank!" Kurt exclaimed, his heart still racing.

She didn't answer him. In fact, she looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Kurt's protective instincts immediately went into overdrive.

"Are you alright, sweety? You look like you've seen a ghost," Kurt said, eyeing her carefully.

Here breathing was shallow, her eyes widened and darting around and there was sweat forming on her forehead. Her face managed to be both flushed and devoid of blood. Her hands were wringing the hem of her summer dress anxiously. His worry grew tenfold.

"Rachel, talk to me! Did something happen to you on the way from the choir room to the car? Do you need me to call your dads or the police? Do you need me to drive you to the hospital? Did someone do something to you? I'd thought they'd be all scared by Santana's 'Bully Whips' campaign by now …"

He trailed off when she showed no further sign of acknowledgment to his words, so he placed his right hand on her left shoulder and somehow that snapped her right out of her stupor, her head turned to him in a splitsecond.

"I … I …" She stuttered, her mouth opening and closing like a fish's.

"You?" Kurt prompted. What on earth could leave Rachel Berry so shaken up and speechless.

"I … I think … I think Quinn asked me out …" Rachel whispered, her eyes still comically wide.

It took a second for Kurt to let this message travel from his ears to his cerebral cortex. He blinked a few times, just staring at his friend as his eyebrows steadily rose in an attempt to meet his hairline and his synapses desperately tried to make sense of this information. "I beg your pardon?"

Rachel swallowed hard before she repeated herself again, this time her voice was only slightly wavering. "I think Quinn Fabray just asked me out."

XXXXX

The only other time Kurt drove as fast as he did on this afternoon was when he discovered that his dad had a heart attack and was in the hospital. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And Quinn Fabray asking out Rachel Berry surely was a sign of the impending apocalypse.

His SUV came to a screeching halt in front of the Berrys house and he nearly sprinted out of his car to get to Rachel's door, opening it up for her and nearly pulling her out of the car.

"Come on!" He exclaimed, locking the car with a swift movement of pointing the remote control over his shoulder. "You need to tell me everything!"

He frogmarched the girl up the short path to the front door and impatiently tapped his right foot when she stumbled with the keys. As soon as the door was opened and they were inside he gently kicked the door shut and nudged her up the stairs, hollering a "Hello Ben and Jerry," yes, that joke got old very quickly for Rachel's dads, "I'm borrowing Rachel for a bit!" over the banister in the general direction of the living room.

Once the door to Rachel's bedroom clicked shut behind them Kurt guided her to the bed and sat her down against the headboard before throwing himself on the soft duvet next to her.

"Spill!"

Rachel still looked shell shocked.

"Rachel," Kurt whined and raised his left hand to gently tap her nose, effectively gaining her attention, "You can't just drop such a bomb on me and expect me to not be curious about this. What happened after I left the choir room?"

"Well," she began, swallowing hard once again, "I was busy packing my bag, thinking about various summer break bonding activities the glee club could participate in, when someone cleared their throat next to me. And there she was, Quinn Fabray, in all her five foot six aryan glory."

She trailed off and and Kurt nodded, reaching out to pat her thigh over her skirt. "Go on."

"She, uh, she, well, she asked me if I wanted to get together some time, maybe this friday. You know, for coffee at the Lima Bean, a movie or dinner at the only vegan restaurant in Lima. I just nodded and said the restaurant was just fine …"

Rachel's eyes suddenly widened and she straightened her position, frantically grabbing for Kurt's hands.

"Oh god, Kurt, what if it's a trap? What if she seeks revenge for prom? I can't meet up with her, there'll be probably a slushie shower waiting for me!"

"Whoa, easy there, Rachel," Kurt sat up next to her and took her face in both of his hands to get her to calm down. "Let's think this through logically, okay?" When she didn't nod he forced her head up and down. "Okay. So. I think both of you have evolved enough in the last two years to not resolve on childish beverage throwing anymore, don't you? And what happened at prom wasn't your fault. If she really wanted to seek revenge she would slushie the whole school." Rachel hesitantly nodded. "All right. Speaking as a third party, Quinn has been nicer to you this year and you told me you even have somewhat bonded over … things I'm not allowed to bring up. Have you ever entertained the idea that maybe she really just wanted to ask you out?" Rachel shook her head. "You should, why else would she mention to take you to the only places in town with vegan food alternatives, aside from the supermarkets and health food stores? Why would she even remember you being a vegan otherwise?"

"What if it's a ploy to lull me into a false sense of security?" Rachel whispered fearfully.

Kurt huffed exasperatedly. "Didn't you tell me that you'd kill for a date with Quinn Fabray just a week ago?"

"Yes!" Rachel exclaimed. "Ten years from now when I'm a successful Broadway actress and have something going for me and high school is long forgotten! But not now, when she probably still dreams about murdering me in my sleep for stealing two of her ex-boyfriends, one of them repeatedly! Not now, when I ruined her prom experience!"

"Rachel," Kurt groaned with a roll of his eyes, "Judging on her new hair cut and her attempt at asking you out Quinn is probably ready to let bygones be bygones and make a fresh start. Why don't you just jump at the chance and see where it goes?"

He let go of her face and Rachel nodded lightly, until she froze up again.

"Oh god," she whimpered.

"What now?"

"I have a date with Quinn Fabray!"

"Yes, I thought we already covered that."

"But Kurt, I have **nothing** to wear! And I don't know which make-up to use! It's _Quinn Fabray_, everyone looks like the Creature from the Black Lagoon next to her!"

Kurt grinned. "Don't worry, I'll be over on Friday and help you pick something out. I think I already have the perfect outfit and make-up combination in mind. When are you going to meet her at the restaurant?"

"I don't … I mean I'm not …"

"Oh come on, Rachel, you already said you'd meet her. Don't get cold feet now."

"She offered to pick me up."

Kurt burst into laughter. "Really, she's going to pick you up? Don't you think this should've been your first clue that she treats this as a real date?"

Kurt's laughter soon turned into a shriek when Rachel whacked him with a pillow.

XXXXXXXXX

Friday came too fast, at least for Rachel's liking. Once again she looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Kurt had to tell her repeatedly to take deep breaths.

Kurt sneakily eavesdropped on her conversation with Quinn in which the blonde told her to be ready by six PM before she left with Brittany and Santana. That left Kurt barely three hours after school and glee club to get Rachel ready for her date and try to keep her from hyperventilating.

He sat Rachel down on the edge of her bed and proceeded to search through her walk-in closet. He resurfaced with an armful of dresses, shirts and skirts, throwing them next to her on the bed.

One of her dads, Benjamin, stood in the doorway to her room, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest, gesturing with the hand that momentarily held his glasses.

"So, this Quinn, is that—"

"Former cheerleader Quinn Fabray, ex-president of the Celibacy Club. And yes, _that_ Quinn," Kurt said from his place at the foot of the bed, where he was leaned over and sorted through various outfits.

"Oh," Benjamin exhaled, "Okay. – Pumpkin, you really need to breathe. You're about to keel over."

Kurt looked up and walked to his friend, pulling her up into a standing position and gently nudging her to her en-suite bathroom.

"Go and shower, Rachel. Or take a bath. I'm going to sort through your outfits and I don't want to see you outside of this bathroom for at least forty-five minutes, okay? It'll help you to calm down and you need to get ready anyway."

Rachel mutely nodded and as soon as the door clicked shut Kurt turned around to her dad who had put his glasses back on, his arms crossed again, and stared at the closed bathroom door in disbelief.

"I have to admit, in the last seventeen years I've never seen her so nervous. I mean, she was almost ready to dance as soon as she was out of Shelby's womb and she was always ready to charm any judges on any stage with her voice. But this? This is the worst case of stage fright I've ever seen. And I've seen almost all of her performances."

"Yes, Quinn Fabray tends to have this effect on people," Kurt laughed lightly while shaking his head and going back to the bed.

"So … this is legit, right?" Benjamin asked, suddenly his 'stern dad face' on. "No funny business from this Fabray girl?"

Kurt pondered this for a moment and pursed his lips. "I think it is. I mean, Quinn has changed a lot since her former Head Bitch in Charge ways. With the baby and all, getting thrown out of her own house at sixteen and her parents getting a divorce. I think if she only wanted to humiliate Rachel she would've already done so, repeatedly."

Benjamin nodded brusquely. "Can't blame me for asking, though. I mean, you know, given our history with the Fabrays."

"No, I most certainly can't," Kurt sighed as he straigthened out a dark blue summer dress on the bed absentmindedly. "I understand your trepidations. But Quinn has really changed. I think Santana and Brittany, her best friends, have helped a lot with that. And if I remember correctly it was always only her parents protesting against anything gay and not Quinn herself. And in hindsight, Quinn being not exactly straight suddenly explains so many of her actions. So I think it's time to give Quinn a chance to proof herself. You can still get a restraining order for her later."

Benjamin nodded again and was startled when his husband suddenly appeared next to him.

"How's it going in here, everybody having a good time and excited for the date?" Jeremy grinned, his white teeth a stark contrast against his dark skin.

"Our daughter is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but other than that everything's peachy," Benjamin huffed.

"Oh, well, Ben, you can't really blame her for that. I think I actually _had_ a panic attack when you first asked me out," Jeremy said, grinning at his husband.

Kurt bit his lip to keep the laughter at bay and resumed to walk back towards Rachel's closet to coordinate her underwear. (Yes, he was positive nothing would happen at the very first date that would warrant such detail, but the artist in him just couldn't risk Rachel picking out underwear that could possibly ruin the whole ensemble, like a black bra under a white blouse, or something. And he was almost certain that both Brittany and Santana would take over Quinn's wardrobe as well, even in that department.) Rachel's dads turned out to be great role models for him. After all, that could be him in about twenty or twenty-five years. And although he loved his own dad very dearly, he was still a straight man fumbling his way through his gay son's life. Sometimes it was just easier to talk to the Berrys.

Kurt emerged from the closet with a matching set of underwear clutched in one hand and different pairs of shoes in his arms, just in time to catch the tail of the conversation between Rachel's dads.

" … and don't worry, I can give her the 'I'm the stern papa bear don't mess with my cub' speech if you don't want to."

Kurt snorted, gaining the attention of the two men. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please do. I've always wanted to see that happening to other teenagers, too, just so I can die with the knowledge that my own dad isn't the only one who does that. But please don't scare Quinn away in the process, I've worked on this for days! I dare say it is my masterpiece."

Jeremy grinned. "Will do. Let's go downstairs, Ben, and discuss possible tactics. I don't want to come on too strong."

Benjamin rolled his eyes and allowed his husband to pull him out of the doorway and downstairs.

Kurt chuckled and went back to coordinating the different outfits lying on his friend's bed before he ventured on towards her vanity to sort through her make-up. After that he sat down on Rachel's office chair, pulled out his phone and once again started Angry Birds. He'd beat those damn pigs, and if it's the last thing he was ever going to do, so be it!

Some time later he heard the hair dryer spring to life and then switched off again minutes later.

Rachel stepped out of the bathroom clad in a fluffy light pink terry cloth towel clutched around her torso that ended somewhere around her knees, her loose hair framing her face.

"Ah, there you are!" Kurt exclaimed and turned off the game, putting his cellphone down on her desk next to his keys. "And not a second over forty-five minutes, I'm impressed. Feel better?"

Rachel nodded hesitantly. "Uhm," she pointed at her closet, "I'm just going to get some underwe—"

"No need, I already picked something out for you."

Rachel blushed. "Don't you think that going through my underwear drawer is inappropiate?"

"Rachel, it's not like I'm trying to get you out of it. I'm trying to get you in to it," he pointed at the bed. "There it is. Put it on and we'll get you into an outfit so fabulous Quinn Fabray won't know what hit her and make her question why she didn't ask you out sooner."

Rachel's blush deepened as she grabbed her underwear and almost sprinted back towards the bathroom. A few moments later she emerged again, this time in a bath robe.

"Rachel," Kurt sighed, "I'm going to see a lot more of you between the outfit changes anyway. Think of it as training for Broadway. There'll be a lot of gay men helping you in and out of costume in your future, why not start getting used to it now. I promise I don't only want you for your body."

The girl huffed and discarded her bathrobe by throwing it back into her bathroom. Kurt blinked and let his eyes travel over her. Yeah, if he were straight, he could totally see the appeal. Alas, he wasn't, and Rachel wasn't, so he decided to help her get over her insecurities instead when she stood in the doorway to the bathroom, one arm slung over her chest to grab the other arm that hang limply at her side, almost looking like she was waiting for the inquisition.

"There is nothing wrong with your body, Rachel. You look good, almost too good to be true. And you will not look like the Creature of the Black Lagoon next to Quinn Fabray. Unless you want to, I'm sure I can pull some strings to get the appropiate costume and make-up then. But with any of the outfits I picked you'll look like a vision, a fantasy. Now get your behind over here, we have one and a half hours to make you look wonderful. And you will look wonderful, I give you my word."

XXXXXXXXX

Eighty minutes later Kurt was finished.

They settled on dark blue jeans, neither too loose nor too tight, because somewhere along the way of trying on various dresses and skirts Rachel's panic returned and she begged Kurt to let her wear pants, just in case it was going to be a prank after all and she needed to run away. Suffice to say that threw over all of the boy's plans and he disappeared into her closet again, mumbling about the fickle mind of one Rachel Berry.

He returned with a variety of jeans (thank god for that shopping trip they took together) and tops, matching them together in a system only he seemed to understand. In the end the perfect match turned out to be a simple, yet classy black sleeveless top. Together with a light white cardigan and flat, black sandals the outfit was completed.

Kurt sat Rachel down at her vanity and went with simple make-up, nothing too distracting. He accentuated her eyes, because they were simply gorgeous, and a barely there lipgloss, because she was stunning when she smiled. (No, he was most certainly not crushing on her. But there's no harm done in being honest.) Her hair fell in loose curls around her face and spilled over her shoulders and he decided to leave it this way, only swiping her bangs aside.

"All right, we're done here."

Rachel gave him a small, genuine smile before her eyes locked onto the clock on her nighstand that could be seen through the mirror. Panic was evident in her voice.

"Oh my god, it's almost six!"

"Yes, Rachel, very good. That's exactly how the clock works. I see you paid attention in elementary school."

"But she'll be here any minute now!"

"Yes."

"I'm going on a date with Quinn Fabray!"

"Yes."

"You need to come with me!"

"Ye—, wait, what? No! Rachel!"

"I don't have anything to talk about!"

"Rachel, calm down! We all know each other since we were practically in diapers, you'll find a topic to talk about."

"Please come with me!" She pleaded, only short of begging on her knees. "Or, oh, I know! How about I hide a bluetooth headset on one ear and you can coach me alo—"

"This is ridiculous."

The doorbell rang and the sound made Rachel fly into Kurt's arms. "Please!" She begged, cluthing the front of his shirt with trembling hands, "Just give me a hint! Anything!"

Kurt sighed, grabbed Rachel's upper arms and pushed her away from him at arm's length. "Rach, calm down. Chances are that Quinn wants to talk about things you and she find interesting, and not about my love of the latest fashion in Vogue or how cute I think my boyfriend is or how I'm about to smack you up the head if you don't release your grip on my shirt immediately." The girl reluctantly let go of the shirt in question. "Okay, thank you."

He turned her around and led her towards the bedroom door. "Just be yourself, because I can hear your dad using his papa bear charms to scare Quinn into oblivion already. You'll be fine, you'll both be fine, because apparently you'll both be nervous wrecks. This is a first date, Rachel, she isn't asking your dad for your hand in marriage."

They reached the banister and the conversation between Quinn and Jeremy ceased.

It was almost like in every clichéd movie that had a prom in it. Quinn was dressed in a yellow sundress that matched her short hair almost perfectly. She looked up the stairs and smiled at Rachel, who had the railing in a death grip and slowly descended down the stairs, Kurt one step behind her, whispering in her ear.

"If you really need an out you can call me from the bathroom or something, but I advise you to just give her a chance. But I want a call later on with details, or I swear on my tiara collection that I'll be standing on your doorstep six AM sharp tomorrow."

Rachel nodded brusquely and stopped on the last step of the staircase, making her the same height as Quinn.

"Hi," Quinn smiled hesitantly.

Rachel blushed. "Hey."

An awkward silence was stretching out between the five of them, because Ben just _had_ to accompany his husband to the door to scare the potential girlfriend of his little girl to death.

Kurt cleared his throat. "Right, why don't you go along to whatever you have planned and I'll go and clean up the mess in your room," he said and gently nudged Rachel forward.

"R- Right," Rachel stuttered.

"Curfew is at ten," Benjamin unnecessarily remind the two girls in a brisk tone.

"I'll have her back by then and not a second later, I promise," Quinn placated him before giving the the two men and Kurt a small wave. "Bye," she said before turning towards Rachel and gesturing towards the car. "Shall we?"

Rachel nodded and stalked towards the car next to Quinn.

Kurt really couldn't resist this perfect opportunity to shout after Rachel. "Go get 'em, tiger!" He laughed as Rachel turned on her heels and glared at him and just slammed the door shut.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Half an hour later all unused outfits were back in Rachel's closet, her vanity cleaned up and bedding straightened. Kurt grabbed his cellphone and car keys from her desk, wished both of Rachel's dad a good evening and told them that there really was no reason to worry, since they both made their intentions towards Quinn pretty clear, should she attempt something fishy.

At precisely ten oh one his phone rang next to him on the couch and, judging on Rachel's delighted squeal and her rapid fire summary of the date, he already knew he'd be on the Berrys' doorstep the next day early on anyway. Firstly, because he only understood half of what she was saying right now, and secondly to start planning the second date.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I've been working for a companion piece (Unholy Trinity POV) to this fic for some time. Hopefully it'll be finished at some point. As soon as it is, it'll be posted here, too.


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